A variety of consumable products are known which are either disposed within inedible outer hulls or are otherwise less appealing in their natural state than might be the case if some physical modification were made. Specifically, a classification of fruits are known that have inedible outer hulls, but that contain desirable meat there within.
A true nut has a hard shell, does not split open when ripe, and has its kernel, or meat, in one piece. Acorns, hazelnuts, beechnuts, and sweet chestnuts are among the true nuts in the botanical sense. In the popular sense, many other foods are called nuts. Examples are the peanut, which is actually a legume, and the almond and coconut, which are drupes, or stone fruits. The edible portion of most nuts, true nuts or otherwise, is the embryo, in which large amounts of protein and fat are stored to nourish the young seedling plant. The nutshell protects the kernel from contamination.
Although without the nutshell, consumption of nuts would likely be unappealing, these shells can sometimes be the indirect cause of much frustration. For instance, when cracking the shell open, a handheld nutcracker is traditionally used. Although this type of nutcracker is effective in cracking the nutshell to expose the nutmeat contained, the delicious nutmeat is often crushed, and therefore, difficult to eat or completely undesirable.
A variety of devices are known for the fracture or cracking of nut hulls that employ a variety of physical movements. The traditional nut cracker comprised of two arms that are rotatable about a central yoke and are thereby squeezed together by hand pressure to crush the nut placed there between. This device which is still in broad use, has among its disadvantages, the tendency to shatter the nut hull and the delicate meat contained therein. This is so as there is no way to consistently apply the pressure in the crushing operation. Generally, when one applies pressure against the rigid outer hull of the nut, one tightens the grip around the nut cracker in a manner in which cannot be strictly calibrated. Frequently, strength of the person operating nut cracker is widely variant, and a strong grip and squeeze of the nut cracker arms may result in total shattering.
Various devices are known in the prior art that have sought to remedy the aforementioned difficulties by the application of a more controlled pressure against the nut during the process. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,248,313 to Gradick, Sr. discloses a nut cracker device which utilizes a reciprocating plunger arm with a head disposed at the forward portion thereof, and a corresponding anvil or platen adapted to receive the nut. The Gradick device, however, offers a small head or piston which is rigidly disposed on the end of the plunger arm and by its size, will cause the inordinate concentration of all of the pressure on a single point on the surface of the outer hull. The result of the operation of this device would be to puncture the outer hull and to destroy the nut meat contained therein before an effective fracture of the hull could be achieved.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,491,628 to Ventin et al utilizes a freely reciprocable plunger with a corresponding handle. The Ventin device, however, suffers from the same deficiencies as the traditional nut cracker of the prior art, as there is a lack of ability to calibrate the action of the plunger and therefore, the amount of pressure to be applied to the nut hull. The result of this, is that the nut will likewise he unduly fractured and the nut meat damaged.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,590,953 to Gendler discloses a compact device with a chamber within which a nut may be placed, and a reciprocable plunger that is screw actuated for application of pressure to the nut. Gendler, like Gradick et al utilizes a plunger with a small piston head, with the result that the nut hull will be unduly fractured at one point on its surface and the nut meat will be damaged.
A need therefore exists for a device which provides the calibration of a screw actuated plunger while applying the forces of the crushing process uniformly and evenly so that the nut meat is undamaged while the hull is suitably fractured. It is to the satisfaction and solution of the aforementioned problems that the present invention is directed.